


what is and what shall never be

by lesbianmxgicians (kaianieves)



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: F/F, Marina 23, Pining, goddess!julia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-06 22:24:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17948261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaianieves/pseuds/lesbianmxgicians
Summary: Surprisingly, Marina wants to help for once.





	what is and what shall never be

Julia's taking a smoke outside the apartment when a car rolls up. She expects it to be Kady- it isn't. The car door opens, and out steps Marina. She takes off her aviator sunglasses, placing them atop her head. "Julia," she says, slamming the car door. Marina struts the small distance to where Julia is standing. "Just the person I was looking for."

"If you want your apartment back, it's not happening. If you want to know where Kady is, that's not happening either," Julia says firmly. She drops her cigarette on the ground, crushing it under her heel. Julia turns to head back inside, but Marina catches her arm.

"I may not be able to do magic but I can still kick your ass," Julia warns. Marina lets go, smiling.

"That's what I'm here about," Marina says. Julia looks confused. "I want to help you get your magic back."

 

They sit across from each other in the apartment that truly belongs to neither of them. "So you're telling me," Julia starts, "That you want to help me regain my god powers? Out of the  _goodness_ of your heart?"

"Yep, basically," Marina says. Julia still doesn't believe her. Marina sighs, uncrossing her legs and leaning forward on the couch. "Look, I'm in a new timeline; things are on the up and up for me right now. I could use some good karma, and who better to get it from than a god?" she asks rhetorically.

"Okay... But then, who told you?" Julia asks.

"Penny. Let's just say, we went on a little roadtrip together recently. Between absorbing cinnabar and traversing time, we had to make small talk." Julia swallows at that. She can't help but feel slightly betrayed. She'll deal with that and Penny later. Right now, there's an opportunity in front of her.

"So how would you go about getting my powers back?"

 _"That_ is the difficult part. There probably isn't enough ambient magic to juice you up even fifty percent, so... We're probably going to have to visit another world. One with lots of magic, preferably- maybe a hot fairy," Marina says.

"Fillory," Julia supplies.

"Bingo." Marina falls silent for a moment, staring at Julia.

"What is it?" Julia asks.

"Oh nothing. It's just- you're sitting in the gold chair. Suits you well." Marina stands up from the couch. "You're on your way to being a powerful goddess again already."

 

When they get to the physical kids' cottage, Marina walks through the door slowly. She looks around in slight awe, mostly because not everything is torn to shreds. Either by The Beast: The Sequel or little human pricks burning it down because they're magic-phobic. "What's wrong?" Julia asks from behind her. She's standing in front of the giant TADA sign that Marina has never come to appreciate.

"Tell your classmates they need a better interior designer," is all Marina says. "So, how do we get to Fillory?"

"Well, first we had this button, and then there were these quest keys that could open doors to other worlds. There's also the Neitherlands-"

"Yadda yadda, backstory and exposition I don't need. How do we get to Fillory  _now,"_ Marina interrupts.

"We could try a portal spell," Julia says.

"A portal spell? Really?" Marina drawls sarcastically.

"Yeah, like-like in a mirror." Julia disappears for a moment, leaving Marina to cross her arms and wait in the main room. She then returns with a heavy leather bound book. Julia hands it to Marina, who reads the engraved cover.

"Painstaking Portals, Volume One." Marina glances at Julia questioningly.

"Coffee table reading," she shrugs. Marina rolls her eyes. She opens the book, flipping through the pages and skimming the words. There are drawings of salt rings and pools of water. Finally she lands on a page involving mirrors. Marina's eyes dart back and forth quickly, before she looks up from the book at Julia.

"Yeah, this should work. Now we just need a mirror."

They've both crammed into the upstairs bathroom, Julia holding the book in her arms as Marina moves her deft fingers, casting the spell. The glass of the mirror starts to warp and wiggle, the reflection disappearing for a moment to reveal a stark black void. "This isn't like a mirror bridge, is it? Because it won't work, unless you can lure Penny here to bleed him dry."

Julia reads the page again. "Nope. Should take us directly into Fillory, no bridge required." Marina makes a sturgeon face, humming in acknowledgment. Then she climbs onto the porcelain sink and sticks her leg through the mirror. She pushes her body forward, feet first. Marina lands on a large patch of moss, surrounded by tall grass and unfamiliar looking flowers. Behind her, the other side of the mirror floats mid air. Julia's shoe comes through, followed by her thighs and then the rest of her. She falls onto her one knee, kneeling. Marina, surprisingly, reaches out to give her a hand up. "The book said we have twelve hours before that portal disappears," she says.

"Alright then, let's get walking."

 

The farther they travel, the more hope Julia puts into the prospect of getting her powers back. Maybe it's the opium in the air, or just genuine optimism. She hasn't felt either in a long while, so she wouldn't know the difference. It's quiet as they walk.

"So what do you plan on doing once you get your powers back?" Marina asks.

"What do you plan to do with your good karma?" Julia counters.

"Oh, I don't know. Get married, buy a house. Vacation in the Bahamas."

"Get married? To who?" Julia asks.

 _"Whom,"_ Marina corrects her, which makes Julia roll her eyes. "And my girlfriend of course." Julia stops walking, looking more than a little shocked. "Oh what? Did you think I was just some unlovable twenty-something hag?" Marina laughs, although a part of her is genuinely curious. The thinking face that covers Julia's reminds Marina of her Julia- from her timeline.

They never got together there either. Between Penny, her unfortunate commitment to heterosexuality and Quentin murdering her, Marina had never gotten around to asking the question. But she'd thought about it. A lot. Sometimes she still wished she had. Now here she was presented with another opportunity, but before she'd considered it, Marina had found her girlfriend again. Not that she didn't love her girlfriend. Of course she did. But Marina could never look at Julia and not wonder- what if?

"I mean no, I didn't think you were unlovable," Julia says. "I just didn't think you were-"

"Gay? Well, we're all full of surprises. Now come on Jesus, we've got a deity to restore."


End file.
